Mayor Boris Johnson has previously suggested that the lack of City Hall oversight of Network Rail and train operators is partly to blame for the repeated failures and lack of long-term solution.

Last month Labour transport spokesperson Val Shawcross called on ministers to seek help from Transport for London, the Mayor’s transport agency, to draw up an improvement plan for the station’s ambitious redevelopment programme and end the ongoing signal problems.

Support for TfL involvement in the capital’s rail services is growing, with business leaders last week calling for all London surface rail routes to be renationalised as existing franchises come to an end.

Speaking on Friday, Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said businesses were now suffering from repeated delays and cancellations.

He said: “The time has now come to stop moaning about the problems and start to look for solutions. We urge the new government to look to devolve responsibility for commuter train services into the capital to Transport for London.

“It makes total sense to join up our transport network under an integrated management body and would help to overcome some of the issues that have been experienced over the past six months.”

Comments

There is an excellent article on the London Reconnections website about the problems at London Bridge. As far as I’m aware the suggested TfL takeover was operational, replacing the TOCs that run the service whereas most of the problems at London Bridge have been with the infrastructure which is Network Rail’s responsibility, something I think TfL would be less than keen on taking over.